7 Ways to Get Rid of Those Annoying Under Eye Bags

Don’t you just hate it when people ask you why you look so tired, even after you’ve had a great night’s rest? Yep, we get that sometimes, too, and boy, is it annoying! But, when we are showered with those oh-so-lovely comments, we don’t go around wearing sunglasses for the rest of the day, instead, we take a more proactive approach.

Here are 7 simple–and cheap or completely free!– ways we get rid of our most stubborn under eye bags. We promise, if you practice these habits regularly, NO ONE will accuse you of being tired when you’re not, ever again!

Cover your peepers with green tea bags

You’ve probably tried this old standby at one time or another (for us, the first time was at a middle school sleepover!), but if you haven’t done it in a while, your eyes are really missing out!

Just submerge a couple of tea bags in hot water and then gently lay one over each eye—taking care that they are cool enough first, of course! Not only will the antioxidants from the green tea work to bring down swelling, we find that the mask really wakes us up. Win-win!

Consider an antihistamine

Did you know that your puffy under eye area could be directly linked to your seasonal allergies? Have a talk with your doc to see if your allergies may have something to do with your tired-looking eyes, but in the meantime, try an over-the-counter antihistamine. These pills and sprays work wonders for us during allergy season!

Keep your hands away from your delicate under eye area

Remember how your grandmother would always tell you to keep your hands away from your eyes because doing so could give you wrinkles? Well, as it turns out, she was totally right!

In fact, even the light pulling that you may use in your makeup routine can be, at its best, creating bags under your eyes, and at its worst, aging them prematurely. For more tips on safe makeup practices for protecting your eyes—and preventing irritation that leads to under eye bags— click here!

Drink water— and lot’s of it!

You already know that staying hydrated is an integral part of keeping healthy, but were you aware that lack of water in your diet could be contributing to your under eye bags?

To ensure that you don’t fall into this dehydration trap, drink at least 9 glasses of water per day if you are a woman and 13 glasses of water per day if you are a man— this number, of course, can increase depending on your lifestyle. Water: it’s good for your bod, inside and out!

Reconsider your dietary choices

Bad news for junk food junkies, drinkers, and smokers, too—all of your bad habits are known to contribute to dark and puffy under eye areas! So, swap out the unhealthy stuff for iron and collagen-rich foods. Not only will you look better, you’ll feel a heck of a lot better, too!

Get some help from your makeup bag

Let’s be real—sometimes you don’t have the time in the morning to chill out and wait for one of your homemade eye masks to work. If this is the case for you, take a brush and apply some red lipstick (a shade with hints of orange works best) to your under eye area BEFORE applying your concealer.

What we love about this technique is that it’s a total two for one– it camouflages under eye circles AND bags. It might look weird at first, but the results speak for themselves. Bye-bye, under eye bags!

Now that you have all of the under eye know-how you need, you can finally enjoy some bag-free zen. So much better, right?